Roncalli defense shuts down Groton attack

January 08, 2008|By John Papendick, jpapendick@aberdeennews.com

Good defense led by Michael Gjernes, Spencer Christenson and Sam Pfeiffer pushed Roncalli past rival Groton 68-47 in a boys' basketball game in Aberdeen Monday. “We knew we had to stop Groton's guards, Gabe Kjellsen and Brandon Spanier, because they are such good players,” said Roncalli senior Max Pfeiffer, who made five three-pointers in front of a full gym. “Spencer and Michael did a great job of defending them.” Roncalli coach Todd Neuendorf added junior reserve Sam Pfeiffer - Max's brother - to that list as well. “Sam had to come in during that second quarter when we had some foul trouble,” said Neuendorf. “He had to guard Kjellsen and Spanier, and he also did a great job. That is why every team needs a good bench. We are trying to develop ours more so we can go a little deeper when we need to do that.” Roncalli was able to pull away from Groton with a 10-0 run midway through the first half that was fueled by three-pointers by Christenson and Max Pfeiffer and baskets by Logan Wherry and Justin Kline. That run gave Roncalli a 24-10 lead. Roncalli sealed the deal in the first four minutes of the second half. Max Pfeiffer hit a three-pointer and then the Cavaliers turned steals by Wherry, Gjernes, Kline and Christenson into points to take a 47-22 lead. Max Pfeiffer heaped more praise on Christenson and Gjernes for their passing. “They really moved the ball well,” said Max Pfeiffer. “Against the zone that Groton was playing, it is important to pass the ball quickly and find the open guy to break it.” The guy doing most of the breaking was Max Pfeiffer. He and his Roncalli teammates made seven three-pointers. Justin “Cap” Kline added a game-high 19 points. “Cap just does whatever we ask of him, whether it is shoot from the outside, post up down low, get rebounds or whatever we need,” said Neuendorf. The Roncalli coach was proud of all of his players. “It was a good all-around effort.” Christenson added 13 points for Roncalli. Teammate Wherry had 10 rebounds and nine points. Despite all the extra attention, Spanier led Groton with 18 points - 16 in the second half - and four assists. Teammate Jordan Holler had three three-pointers to total 11 points for the Tigers, who missed just one of their 12 free throws. This was not a conference game. The Northeast Conference game between the two teams will be played Jan. 25 in Groton. Groton will host Northeast Conference foe Redfield on Friday. This is a busy time for Roncalli. The Cavaliers will travel to Hamlin on Thursday and will host Mobridge Saturday. The Mobridge game will be a girls' and boys' doubleheader at the Roncalli gym. The girls' varsity game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. followed by the boys at 8 p.m. “In the first 30 days of the season, we had five games and a lot of practices,” said Neuendorf. “Now we have five games in a little more than a week. But that is what the coaches and the players want right now, more games.” GROTON: Gabe Kjellsen 1 3-4 5, Matt Wattier 2 0-0 4, Brandon Spanier 6 6-6 18, Jordan Holler 4 0-0 11, Heath Giedt 2 0-0 4, Ryan Koehler 1 0-0 3, Evan Erickson 0 2-2 2. Totals 16-37 11-12 47. ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Justin Kline 9 1-1 19, Spencer Christenson 6 0-0 13, Sam Heintzman 2 0-0 5, Max Pfeiffer 5 0-0 15, Logan Wherry 4 1-2 9, Michael Gjernes 1 0-3 2, Logan Dosch 0 1-2 1, Sam Pfeiffer 0 0-0 0, Charlie Drapeaux 1 0-0 2, Micah Hanson 1 0-0 2. Totals 29-55 3-8 68. Groton (2-6) 10 19 33 47 Aberdeen Roncalli (6-1) 17 36 56 68 3-point field goals - Holler 3, Koehler 1; M. Pfeiffer 5, Christenson 1, Heintzman 1. Total fouls - Groton 14; Aberdeen Roncalli 16. Technical foul - Heintzman. Rebounds - Groton 13 (Giedt 4); Aberdeen Roncalli 26 (Wherry 10). Turnovers - Groton 19; Aberdeen Roncalli 11. Officials - Eric Donat, Kerry Wenbourne, Tom Waage. Attendance - 1,200.